Flint Police bomb squad receives new truck

The department unveiled the truck on Thursday after it received the truck in January. The $193,000-truck was paid for by a Homeland Security grant, said Lt. Collin Bernie, head of the three-member bomb squad.

"This is a heck of an upgrade," he said.

The squad previously used a converted ambulance for its truck.

"In that ambulance, we had crap stuffed everywhere," said Bernie. "In this truck there is a space for everything."

Flint police is the only other bomb squad in the county, and one of two in the region that includes the Thumb and counties as far north as Oscoda, Bernie said. State police has the other one. Flint will be dispatched to other areas in the region if the state police unit is tied up, he said.

The truck has space for all the equipment and its two bomb-disabling robots. It also has a lift for the 700-pound robot that they previously had lift manually.

The squad typically has six to 12 deployments a year. It trains 16 hours a month.